2 THE CITIZEN Monday, January 18, 1960 EDITORIALS Letters to the Editor Competition May Be Needed On several occasions in recent weeks, traveller? using Canadian Pacific Air Lines between Prince George and Vancouver have been put to considerable inconvenience by delayed and cancelled flights. Few of these delays and cancellations, in fact almost none of them, were the fault of the airline. Weather conditions and slippery airport runways, which the airline officials can do nothing about, were the chief causes. But there are one or two facets of the airline's operation which are most annoying to passengers, and they are certainly not so insurmountable that they could not be solved by a little better organization and foresight. We refer to the fact that passengers, particularly at Vancouver, are taken all the way out to the airport terminal, as much as an hour ahead of departure time, and are often left cooling their heels while delay after delay is announced. On some occasions, the flights are cancelled and they are shipped back to the cit.y to wait overnight. An even less comforting situation occurs all too frequently when passengers ask for reasons for delays or cancellations. They are given a wide variety of answers by different officials, many of which are so obviously prefabricated that the passengers, some of whom are quite familiar with travel facilities, can not help but feel they are getting the run-around for no good reason. For many years the public clamored for some competition for Trans-Canada Air Lines" over its domestic routes because competition does make for better service. This became clearly evident the moment Canadian Pacific was permitted to operate across Canada. By the same token, CPA's monopoly service into Northern British Columbia and the Yukon could probably benefit if it 'had some competition. ATost certainly the public would benefit, since if there were a choice of service, both competitors would make sure the public was inconvenienced as little as possible. Delays and cancellations are not, of course, wanted by the airline companies. They are extremely conscientious in looking to the safety of their aircraft and of the flying public. No one wants to fly if it isn't safe to do so. But competition would create a more efficient organization, and would greatly reduce the present practice of having people cool their heels in airport terminals. Most people are busy. They have better things to do than wait around at the whim of airline officials. Pinay's Loss Blow to de Gaulle By THE CANADIAN PRESS In the unstable years he-fore Charles de Gaulle as-stimed the presidency, a French prime minister who quarrelled with Antoine Pi-nay didn't stay in office lonp. Kver since his own term as premier in 1952, the 68-year-old financial expert from the Loire Valley has. used the votes of his 100-odd Conservative followers in the chamber of deputies as a club over the head of his successors, who needed his support or acquiescence to stay in power.. POPULAR MOVE De Gaulle's constitutional reforms robbed Pinay of his ability to topple governments at will and the president's decision to bring him into the cabinet as minister of finances was widely applauded. As prime minister, Pinay had introduced stringent legislation to halt an inflationary decline of the franc. De Gaulle needed similar measures and it was generally agreed that Pinay was uniquely qualified to provide them. In the 18 months following de Gaulle's accession, Pinay won further praise by devaluing the franc without allowing prices to increase. But AVID READERS from the outset he made no secret of his distaste for some of Premier Michel Debre's policies. HAD TO CHOOSE As the differences between the two men grew, de Gaulle was reluctantly compelled to choose between his premier and his minister of finance. Finally, he asked for Pinay's resignation. The loss of Pinay, following the recent resignation of the only Socialist member of the cabinet, is a blow to de Gaulle's desire for a government representing all shades of non-Communist .opinion. If Pin ay 's Conservatives were to follow him into opposition, Debre would find himself without a parliamentary majority. NO SHOWDOWN Pinay has announced his temporary retirement from public life and is obviously anxious to avoid a parliamentary showdown for the present. But his departure is bound to estrange at least some of the small 'businessmen who have always looked to him for leadership. While some of Pinay's quarrels with Debre concerned financial matters, the appointment of a new minister whose policies are virtually identical makes it plain that the cru-• cial differences between the two men arose outside Piney's department. Although Pinay was one of the earliest advocates of bringing de Gaulle to power, he is known to favor a more conciliatory line in dealing with the Algerian rebels than some of the general's supporters as well as opposing some of their plans for social reform. PKKSOXAT; ATTACK But the issue that mado his departure inevitable was his questioning of de Gaulle's desire to limit French participation in the North Atlantic alliance and European integration. Unlike most of the other disputes, in which de Gaulle was not firmly committed, this was a personal attack on the president himself. Declining the offer of a lesser cabinet post, Pinay went nto retirement, leaving de Gaulle with a government consisting solely of non-political technicians and the polyglot group of politicians who call themselves Gaullists. Red Newspapers Dull — With Cause MOSCOW (AP) — The Soviet Union's press usually is uniform in tone, but fringe variations among the newspapers have developed in recent years. Premier Nikita S, Khrushchev, urging improvements, has said a lot of the press is dull. He has said it is necessary to read foreign papers to know what is going on in the world. Rut for the ordinary Russian, even listening to foreign broadcasts is prevented. AVID READERS The Soviet peoples have an enormous press to read in i>7 languages. Many are avid readers. The reported circulation of newspapers and magazines is so'large that virtually every family must have access to one or more publications. The newspapers are getting access to a bigger body of ¦news distributed by the growing agency, Tass. Except for the big central papers in Moscow and the Moscow radio, Tass is the sole supplier of foreign and big scale national news. It is a state agency. The Soviet Union has 7.GS6 newspapers. Add to this farm and factory newspapers, cinema groups arnd the like am' the total swells to 10,0S8. By far the biggest is ' Communist newspaper Pra (Truth) with a circulation given by its editor as 6,000,-000. It is the only big Moscow paper publishing seven days a week. Pravda appears most of the time with four to six pages. There is virtually no advertising in the Moscow press. But even so these four to six pages have a scanty chance of publishing as much news as big North American dailies. Into those four to six pages can be poured very often more boredom than is likely to 1>e found in any other press in the world. The newspapers rarely crit- VANCOUVKR (CP) — The LfAv'er Mainland Regional planning Board says in a brief to the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation that many potential home buyers dS'«S National Housing Act fiualifications too strict for ¦tlK-'a' incomes. tlai ibrief said the situation 'pu'~-; dangerous strains on f i.".;, life and adds to the j problems of slums and gal conversions." It estimated that one house ,n three now being built in one municipality will be illegally converted to a multiple-family dwelling. The municipality was not named. THE OH Established 1916 Published in Prince George, British Columbia, by The Citizen Publishers and Printers Limited. General Manager Managing Editor JOS. SIDDONS D. C. THACKER Advertising Manager News Editor H. G. KENNEDY J. L. WALKER A Member of The Canadian Press Authorized as Second .Gloss Mail by the Postmaster-General icize the central government. Nevertheless, a paiper sometimes blasts public policies and officials with fury. The law of libel does not seem to protect officials or others who como under press fire. Frequently the press attacks are followed quickly by local government shakeups. Often the changes come so fast that there can be no doubt that the powers that lie directed the press attack in preparation for a shakeout. The papers rarely attack the ¦state police, but they recently tore the hide off the volunteer morality police who took it on themselves to beat up students whose conduct they didn't like. lilTTLE HITMOK A few months ago there was an exposure of black marketing and iprice rigging in stores, with the press treating ;he whole affair with the deadly seriousness of a major heresy. There is rarely a light touch although the humor magazine Krokodil takes gay passes at many subjects and many people — not too high up the government ladder. In recent years reporters are ge-tting 'bylines. Tass agency feels this increases the responsibility of the reporter. SOMETIMES SLOW Tass admits it sometimes is slow in getting news into' print. But its editors study the workings of the foreign agencies. They have adopted a lot of new techniques. Tass operates frankly as an agency of the state although it gets its revenue, it stated recently, from its subscribing newspapers. There are no competing agencies. It says: "In reporting events, we strive to analyse them, expose the reasons which caused them, and to explain currents of international life." The explanations are sometimes such that East and West reports of the same events .may sound as if they are talking about different events. (Letters fop publication are welcome; They must be brief, and will not be printed unless accompanied by the name and address of the writer, although a iiom de |>lumo may be used if desired. Opinions expressed in letters are the writers', and not necessarily those of The Citizen.) Editor, The Citizen, Sir: A r o u n d this time of the year, many children have been given small turtles as Christmas presents. These make charming gifts; the trouble is that nearly all dip. I thought perhaps readers might like some hints on how to keep these .small ,pets alive and happy, taken from "The Care of Turtles- and Small Alligators," 'by C. W. Coates, director of the N i> vv V o r Vc Aquarium. New Try To Open Oil Sands EDMONTON — A comprehensive research project to release liquid hydrocarbons from the Athabasca oil sands of northern Alberta has been announced coincident with tihe formation of a four-company partnership to carry forward the enterprise. The four c o m p a n i e s are Imperial Oil 'Ltd.', Cities Service Athabasca. Inc., Richfield Oil Corp. of Los Angeles, and Royallte Oil Ltd. Athabasca o i 1 sands comprise the world's largest known reserves of hydrocarbons. They are located some 300 miles north of Edmonton alqng the banks of the Athabasca River. Areas in which these sands are at or near the surface* contain in excess of -40 billion barrels of recoverable oil, about the .same amount as the proved crude oil reserves of North America. In other areas, the sands, deeper under the surface and with varying depths of overburden, contain vast additional reserves. Existence o f tremendous hydrocarbon deposits along the Athabasca River has been known to petroleum scientists for many decades. Many unsuccessful efforts have been made to separate oil from the sands on a basis which would toe commercially competitive with other means of producing oil. The new partnership believes the problems can be solved by new techniques. Home Cost To Go Up Watch out for price hikes in Canadian homes this year, w a r n s Forbes Gilbertson in The Financial Post. Cost of construction will go up, but it's too early to tell just how much or how soon prices will be affected. What will help to keep any increases lower than might he expected is that builders face a tough buyer's market. Increases generally are on the way across the country, but they will vary considerably from area to area and, in metro areas, from suburb to suburb, depending on how sales are going. It will 'be another month before the starts picture begins to shape up for 19f!0 and builders have a better idea of how the carry-over is being absorbed. It could be two months or more before any price changes begin to show. Turtles are clean, odorless, take up little room, and are easy to care for. Most of the trouble in keeping turtles is in the diet. According to Mr. Coates, commercial turtle foods are not suitable for turtles; it is' slow death by starvation to keep them on such food, and they will most certainly cause blindness. The best diet for the type of turtle usually sold in pet shops is small quantities of raw fish or beef (without fat), slivers of cooked chicken, and the entrails of chicken or fish. Not hamberger; this is mostly fat, and worthless as a turtle food. All of these, of course, are cut into very small pieces — kitchen shears do the best job — and thft food is dropped into the water. Once or twice a week the food can be rolled into a drop or so of cod liver oil (one capsule). The whole job fakes about two minutes. Temperature of the water is important too. Turtles are cold-blooded; this simply means that they have no way of regulating body temperature. If their water is too cold, their body temperature drops, (and vice versa, if their water is too hot); cold water is therefore fatal to them. Best temperature for their water is about lukewarm, and maintained that way. Water should be changed after feeding, and when soiled, as they do not thrive in greasy or dirty water. About two inches of water in the bowl is deep enough, and a flat rock supported out of the water, or one of these turtle dishes with an "oasis" in the centre, makes a good home. They like to 'bask-in the sunlight, but they eat under water. An aquarium is perhaps the b e s t home for turtles, as a light can be left on night and day. Do not put them in the hot sunshine in the summer; this, like very cold water, will be fatal to them. Turtles should thrive on this diet and care. If, however, you find your ipet is becoming soft on the undershell, a very small quantity of di-cal-cium phosphate (sufficient to cover the tip of a teaspoon) once a week should correct this. Di-calcium phosphate is available at any drug store, and 10c buys enough for an army of turtles. A piece of plaster of Paris in the water helps too. In summer, live or freshly killed flies or earthworms, tossed into the turtles' dish, are a great treat for them, and necessary to their diet. With the above described diet, and with water maintained at a constant temperature, there is no reason why your turtle should not live for years. They become quite tame, and will sometimes take wee scraps of fish or meat from the fingers of the person who feeds them. Remember to hold the food under water. Mrs. R. P. Burgess, RR2, Cluelph, Ont. B.C. Men Re-elected By Forestry Group T. G. Wright, president, and W. F. M y r i n g, secretary-manager, of the Canadian Forestry Association of B.C., were rein r n e d as national directors of the Federation of Canadian Forestry Associations at the annual meeting in Winnipeg. B. F. Avery, Espanola, Ont., was re-elected president and Jules Breton, Quebec, vice-president of the national organization. J. L. Van Camp continues as executive secretary. Price-Fixing Not ASI Says CMA Prexy TORONTO (CP) — The Canadian public could gain from many forms of business cooperation if the law allowed, Canadian Manufacturers' Association President W. H. Evans said recently. He charged the Combines Investigation Act has been guilty of "throwing out the baby with the bath water" with its strict regulations. CREATES DOUBT The act, Mr. Evans said, creates doubt as to the legality of co-operation among business competitors, regardless of whether it has a good or bad effect from the public standpoint. Proposed revisions, he added, should remedy this situation and should also deal with "loss-leader" abuse and misleading advertising. Mr. Evans spoke on "competitor co-operation." Many forms of business co-operation, he commented, could provide savings from -.rhich "the public could not fail to gain," but "guilt of association" had become the law and many companies "understandably nervous" about the whole subject of co-operation. ACTION IMPOSSIBLE With regard to "loss-leaders" —the practice of offering a well-known product at a low price in order to attract customers for other merchandise — Mr. Evans said abnoxious as the practice is to both the fair-dealing retailer and the manufacturer whose high-quality product is being abused, as the law now stands there is nothing they can do about it." "It is to be hoped," he added, "new legislation will enable a manufacturer to refuse sale of his product to unethical retailers, always provided he can satisfy the courts that misuse and abuse of the product was indeed the reason for his, refusal." He said every business man he knows is "all in favor" of a public watchdog to safeguard the interests of the consumer and ( $100 per month, commencing at 65 and continuing as long as you live. Your monthly premium would be only $14.90. And your premiums are deductible for income tax purposes within certain limits. This is only one example of a government annuity. 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